Homeowners Rasheem Robinson, left, and his wife, Jamie Robinson, talk about the building next door on Saturday, July 5, 2014, in Albany, N.Y. They had to leave their home because the building at 162 Clinton Ave. partially collapsed. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union)

On Friday morning, Rasheem and Jamie Robinson were preparing for a Fourth of July cookout at 164 Clinton Ave., where they live with their four children. Within seconds, their holiday celebration was ruined when the world came crashing down around them: The vacant row house next door collapsed when its roof fell in.

The structure had been deteriorating for more than 20 years, Rasheem Robinson said, so it had only been a matter of time.

The couple bought the 136-year-old home at 164 Clinton in 2006 and began voicing concerns about 162 Clinton Ave. soon after moving in. "It was bad even then," Jamie Robinson said as she showed pictures of the residence with a caved-in roof and exposed back wall eight years ago. "That's why we've been complaining to the city about this situation for so long — so we could prevent this."

City officials said the county owns 162 Clinton Ave., which went into foreclosure after an out-of-town owner stopped paying taxes. After a foreclosure process that took three or four years, the building went up for public auction earlier this year, according to Mayor Kathy Sheehan.

Meanwhile, the building's future remains in limbo. So does finding a solution to the safety problem.

Rasheem Robinson built an 8-foot wall between the two properties for protection in case the vacant building came tumbling down.

"If I'd never built that wall, all of the debris would be in our yard," said Robinson, whose children range in age from 9 months to 21 years.

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Since the collapse, the building has been sprayed to reduce airborne contaminants, and bright signs have been placed in the vicinity to warn of the potential health hazard. The debris has been tested for asbestos, but results are not expected until Tuesday, when the state Department of Labor has signed off on the removal of debris starting 8 a.m.

The American Red Cross housed the family of six at a Ramada Inn Friday night. They were allowed to return home. "We have to sit here and inhale all these chemicals from asbestos to lead and dust," Rasheem Robinson said. "We can't open our windows, and my children can't go into the back yard and play this summer. I'll bet the organizations we've complained to wouldn't live here."

His wife claimed government and preservation groups aren't taking her family's lives into consideration. "They value the face of these historic buildings, but not the six lives of the people that live next door," she said. "We want the structure gone."

Susan Holland, executive director of Historical Albany Foundation, says the Robinsons' safety is the first priority in stabilizing the surrounding sea of vacant homes. "The remaining facade needs to be stabilized because it could create a domino effect," Holland said. "The Robinsons' interior wall that connects 162 and 164 Clinton Ave. has never been exposed to the outside, and it's not supposed to be. The last thing we want is for Rasheem and Jamie to be left with their own failing wall at Christmastime."

With neglectful owners and restrictive laws in place, Holland says many organizations' hands were tied, and they were unable to take action. "Unfortunately, preservation is not a black-and-white issue," Holland said. "We want to stabilize the structure to make it safer for the family. We would never put our mission to preserve historical resources ahead of someone's public safety."

County and city codes officials plan to meet with a city engineer Tuesday to decide the future of 162 Clinton Ave. Consulting engineer Russ Reeves says the facade needs to be retained in order to maintain the structural integrity of the other Clinton Avenue row homes. "The building may be asbestos, and it may not, but the area has been treated as if it was," Reeves said.